The Toilet is Mad at Me!

Another story featuring Ethan and the toilet. LOL! About a week ago as we were preparing for the day and getting ready for school, Ethan came rushing downstairs to the kitchen screaming and crying. I couldn't understand him at first and eventually I make out, "the toilet is mad at me and it keeps spilling and spilling..." through his cries and sobs. I rush upstairs to find our bathroom flooded with about an inch of water!!! It took about 10 towels, beach towels, to finally get it cleaned up. I am surprised the water didn't leak down to the floor below because there was so much.

Electronics do not like to Swim in the Toilet

Spring break has been glorious for me. MedSurg just wrapped up and I was ecstatic seeing a grade of 91 on my final exam. Never before had I had such anxiety before an exam. I could actually feel my heart palpate as I went to bed the night before. As Spring break comes closer and closer to it's end, I am constantly trying to find motivation to actually get into the basement and spring clean. I was able to do a little yesterday in-between phone calls/texts. I ended up leaving my cell phone in the basement and forgot to grab it as I left to pick Brian up from school and Ethan from day care. It felt weird not having my phone with me. Over the years it seems to have become a part of my daily life and I felt naked without it. Anyways, after collecting the children, we went to visit my parents for about an hour before heading back home. Once home, Ethan got upset with Katheryn and told me she pushed him. She hadn't but Ethan was adament that she had and when I didn't punish her, he became frustrated and screamed and eventually told me Katheryn had put his Nintendo DS in the toilet. I told him she would never do such a thing. Minutes later, he came back screaming some more about his DS being in the toilet. I sent Katheryn upstairs to check and sure enough...his DS was in the toilet! I didn't have time for this. I was rushing to make lasagna for dinner and get Brian ready for CubScouts. I had 10 minutes before we had to leave. I tossed Ethan's DS into a bowl of rice, threw the lasagna in the oven and loaded the kids into the van. Brian managed to get his Cub Scout shirt on and I had grabbed his kerchief, clip and hat on the way out the door. We were 10 minutes late to the meeting. As we entered the room, I quickly threw Brian's kerchief on around his neck. I still hadn't grabbed my phone and figured I would check it once I got home. When we arrived home, my mission was to find my phone. It wasn't where I had left it. Katheryn recalled seeing it in the basement so she went to grab it. It wasn't there. Hmmmm. Where could it be? I used Katheryn's phone to call it and Katheryn went searching. She heard my phone ringing in the bathroom..unfortunately it was in the toilet. The toilet was lit up with every ring from the phone. It had to have been in the water for at least 2 hours. I thought it was doomed. I quickly grabbed towels and a hair dryer and dismantled the phone. I threw it into the bowl of rice that the DS was already sitting in. Ethan still denies throwing either one into the toilet. I was able to revive my cell phone however, the DS is not working still. It may be beyond repair. Ofcourse, this is not the first time Ethan has done this. We just recently had Katheryn's cell phone replaced because Ethan decided he wanted to see if it would float in the toilet. And Matt's blackberry issued by work took a dive in some Cherry snocone syrup...courtesy of Ethan. He doesn't know that what he has done is wrong. He's just a boy being a boy I guess but I surely cannot wait until he grows out of this. A friend shared with me an acronym for the name Ethan. "Everything Trouble Has a Name....ETHAN!" lol.

Hamster Rescue

Every attempt I make to study has failed. Life just keeps happening around the house and I want to be part of it. This morning, the kids slept in and it was so peaceful. I made myself a cup of tea and sat at the computer to "begin" studying and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It's Brian. "Good morning, Brian" I say and he responds that he is hungry and would like pancakes or waffles. I made him a waffle and went back to the computer. I then hear Ethan talking to Brian in the living room as they watch tv. So I go in to say good morning and he responds, "I am a good boy." Uh-oh! That means he did something. I ask him why he is a good boy and he says that Kia, the hamster, is not in his cage and he is in my bedroom. Ethan said he locked my bedroom door. Great! I don't know how long Kia has been out of his cage or locked in my bedroom. I rushed upstairs to the boy's room and there is no hamster in the cage. I then go to my room and as Ethan promised...the door is locked. I unlock the door and start looking in the corners and behind furniture. No Kia. So then I yell down to Ethan to help me. He comes up and lifts a bowl that he had Kia under. When he wasn't there, Ethan says, "oh, he disappeared!" aaack!!! We searched and searched...finally, I found Kia under our bench in the bedroom. Ethan scooped him up, because I'm not touching him, and put him back into the cage. I don't think I'll ever get any studying done. I think I will recommend to the nursing department that summer is not a great time to schedule pharmacology class.

Father's Day 2010

Matt enjoyed going out and golfing this morning with my dad and brother. When he came home, the kids had their homemade cards ready to give. We all sat around the coffee table while Matt openened his father day gift...a mini fridge/heater that he can plug into the car or under his desk at work. We thought it would come in handy for him to keep his lunches cool or his AMP drink cool for his long ride home from work. Matt kept asking where we were going and to keep it a surprise, I had to tell the boys we were going ice skating. So they were blabbing away that we were going ice skating and Matt kept questioning what to wear b/c he knew we were not going ice skating by seeing the kids wearing shorts and t-shirts. None of us had ever been to this place so it was a new adventure for the Gillespie's. While Matt was golfing, I packed up the van with lunches and extra clothing. The plan was to have a picnic lunch and do some hiking. We drove to Rocky Gap State Park. The drive was beautiful! You could look out and see farms below in the valley. When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded and found a shady spot under a tree on the hill that overlooked one of the beaches. We ate lunch and decided to try canoeing. The kids did not want to go and once we were in the canoe, Brian freaked out and told everyone to sit still and not rock the boat. He didn't want it to flip over. Eventually he warmed up to it and when our hour was over, he asked is the kids could paddle next time. :D We then went for a hike. We walked up to the aviary and saw owls and falcons in the aviary and then we continued to hike to the Canyon Overlook. It was beautiful! Ethan was our trail leader. Once we returned to the picnic area, we changed into our swim suits and headed to the beach area. The boys and Matt enjoyed swimming in the lake. Brian was fascinated with the minnows swimming nearby and Ethan was riding on Matt's back....Matt was a dolphin. Dinner was at Friendly's and once home, we lit up the firepit and it seemed the entire neighborhood was in our backyard for marshmallows. It was an awesome day!!

Ethan'isms

Today was a busy day. Kids were everywhere! You can definitely tell summer has arrived at our house. The door is constantly opening and kids are coming in and playing....today especially for some reason. The boys were playing in the basement when our neighbor's daughter came over to play. She joined the boys in the basement and about an hour later, our other neighbor's daughter came to play. Katheryn then came home from a sleepover with her friend and then joined up with the neighbor's other daughter and played here at our house. A little while passed and the doorbell rings. It's Madison's mom Heidi, w/a snack for Madison. Heidi and I start to chat in the kitchen and the doorbell rings. It's Brian's friend Kyle with his mom Danielle and 7 month old baby brother Sawyer. Danielle joins Heidi and I in the kitchen and we're chit chatting until Ethan comes up the basement stairs and sees Sawyer. With much excitement he says, "what is that?! Can we keep it?!" We mom's started laughing so hard, it was so funny. Then a while later, everyone left. Brian went with Kyle to play at his house and Ethan was so upset that he was left at home stuck with me. He then went outside to entertain himself and came back into the house minutes later with exciting news. Our conversation went like this: Ethan: Mommy, I found a lightning bug! Me: You did? Ethan: Yeah, it's dead. It's a dead lightning bug! Me: Ethan, throw it away or take it back outside. Ethan: Why? Me: Because I don't want it inside the house. Throw it away. Ethan: No, I want to keep it -- it doesn't poop!

Torn mommy

It's amazing how you can plan your day at a drop, it can be changed again. A busy day was planned today starting with Katheryn's 5th grade graduation ceremony at 9:30am and then a trip to the dentist for Ethan at noon. It was a normal morning, the kids were awake and getting ready for school. I had just put Brian's waffles and milk on the table. He drank his milk and soon after he threw up. Wonderful! I thought that maybe he just had a little too much to eat for dinner last night and it was all catching up to him this morning. I sent him out the door with Kahteryn to the bus stop and about 3 minutes later, they were back. Apparently, Brian threw up at the bus stop. OK! So, he doesn't have a temperature so I put him to bed. After about an hour, he came downstairs and was playing with Ethan and running around. Hmm. OK, so he feels better. It was time to leave for Katheryn's ceremony so I told Brian I would sign him into school and he says, "mommy, I think I'm going to throw up again." I didn't believe him. I thought he was trying to keep from going to school because he really didn't look sick at all or feel warm. I told him he had to go with me and that I wouldn't sign him in. He could sit and stay with me. We all get into the van and head to the school. Upon entering the building, we see the cafteria filled with parents and grandparents. We find three seats together and sit down. Ethan complained of not being able to see the stage and the lady behind us chimed in told Ethan she was bigger than him and couldn't see either to help Ethan feel better. At that moment, we here this sound like someone had taken a glass of water and dumped it onto the floor. Well, unfortunately for me, it wasn't a glass of water, it was Brian throwing up. Great! I immediately jumped up a teacher happened to be walking past when I stopped her to let her know. She left to get a janitor while I rushed Brian to the bathroom. I saw Katheryn's teacher in the hallway outside the bathroom to let her know I wasn't able to stay and I then noticed her class was lined up in the hallway. I went to Katheryn and gave her my camera so she could take pictures and share her day with us later when she got home. I then came home with the boys and Brian is now in bed. I told him he was not allowed to get out of bed unless he needed to use the bathroom. So once I got home, I called the dentist to reschedule Ethan's appointment. So what was a busy day for me today is now a day to stay at home. I feel horrible for trying to get Brian to go to school and I feel sad that I won't be able to see Katheryn's ceremony where she gets to say goodbye to elementary school. It's hard but I know that I can't control it all and there will be many more graduations to come. I just hope Brian feels better soon.

Graduation May 15, 2010

In December, my dad had a "mini-stroke" that hospitalized him over Christmas. I had just finished up my semester a few weeks prior and completed the credits needed to receive an Associates degree in General Studies. Although I am proud of my accomplishment, the degree in General Studies doesn't really hold much meaning for me. The degree completion was done for my parents. I received my diploma in the mail the day before Christmas eve and I decided to make a copy and frame it. I wrapped it up with bows and decorations and took it with me to the hospital Christmas Eve when I went to visit my dad. My mom was there visiting too. I gave my dad the gift and he gave it to my mom to open. Once she opened it, she started to tear up and my dad was wondering what it was to make her tear up. She handed it to him and his eyes began to swell with tears as well. I told them, "Merry Christmas. Now you have 2 college graduates." That piece of paper meant the world to them and although it didn't have much meaning for me, I was glad to see how happy it they were because of it. So, to fast forward to the present, this past Saturday, May 15th, was graduation day. I did not want to walk at graduation but my parents really wanted to see the ceremony to make the diploma come to life I guess. So, I signed up to graduate. My parents and family found me in line before the procession and I took a picture with Matt and the kids before they went to find seats. After the ceremony I looked and looked for them and eventually found Matt and the kids outside waiting. I guess my parents had to leave in order to open up the flea market. I didn't get a picture with them but it's ok. The next diploma will mean more to me -- my anticipated graduation date from Nursing is December 2011...so May 2012 I will be walking again only this time, I will be doing the walk for me.